Counties should emulate Vihiga on technology

In a bid to perhaps encourage the adoption of technology by counties, the law requires them to use Spatial Information Technology. According to part eleven of the County Government Act 2012 which is about County Planning, every county government in Kenya must develop a planning framework for the county and no public funds are to be appropriated outside of this. Clause 105 (1)(f) specifically states that a county planning unit shall be responsible for ensuring the establishment of a GIS-based database system. GIS is an acronym for Geographic Information System.

According to ESRI – a global market leader in GIS, it is a system that creates, manages, analyses and maps all types of data. It connects data to a map, integrating location data (where things are) with non-location data like population density and other descriptive information that provides details on what things are like at a specific location, to quickly identify patterns that may otherwise be overlooked.

Despite the implementation of GIS by counties being a legal requirement since 2013, very few counties have adopted and integrated this technology. Vihiga county has excelled in implementation of GIS to map out gaps and improve service delivery to the people. Last year at the onset of the Covid-19, the county used GIS technology to identify possible hotspots and monitor the spread of the virus. It is also through GIS, that the county successfully reduced maternal and infant mortality rates by ensuring all health facilities are located within a 5km radius.

Vihiga is an example of how counties can use technology to deliver their development agenda, streamline operations like budgeting and revenue collection.